# 119-hr-10728: Maternity Care for Rural Communities Act of 2026

119-hr-10728, Maternity Care for Rural Communities Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Davids, Sharice [D-KS-3] (D-KS); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-22).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10728
- As of: 2026-10-22
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-10728
- Congress: 119
- Title: Maternity Care for Rural Communities Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-10-05
- Sponsor: Rep. Davids, Sharice [D-KS-3] (D-KS)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-22

## Summary

**Removes federal limits on certain Medicaid payments for maternity, labor, and delivery services.** It creates an exemption so payments described in 42 CFR 438.6(c)(2)(iii) for qualifying births at certain hospitals face no federal cap for rating periods beginning July 4, 2025. - Families: Births paid in whole or in part by Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicare, the Indian Health Service, or Native Hawaiian health care, or births where the hospital incurred uncompensated care, count as qualifying births. Payments tied to those births at eligible hospitals can be made without a federal limit. - Rural, tribal, and high-maternity hospitals: A “specified entity” includes rural hospitals, hospitals run by the Indian Health Service or tribes, and hospitals where at least 50 percent of births were qualifying births in the most recent 12-month data period. Those hospitals are eligible for uncapped maternity payments. - State Medicaid payers: States may make the payments described in 42 CFR 438.6(c)(2)(iii) to specified entities during rating periods starting July 4, 2025, without applying the usual payment limit.

## Provisions PRIA read

- More flexible maternity payments for rural hospitals: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would exempt certain maternity, labor, and delivery payments from existing payment limits. The exemption would apply to payments described in 42 CFR 438.6(c)(2)(iii) made during a rating period beginning on or after July 4, 2025. No limit would apply when the payer is a specifi…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hr-5862: American Energy Independence and Affordability Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-10728 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/10728)

## Related
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7481)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hr-5862: American Energy Independence and Affordability Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5862)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10728 (as of 2026-10-22).